We already wrote about the HD 6930 last week and now HIS has launched its own version, the HIS Radeon HD 6930 IceQ X.

In case you missed it, the HD 6930 packs 1280 stream processors, 32 ROPs and 80 TMUs, either 1GB or 2GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with 256-bit memory interface and the clocks are 750MHz for the GPU, 4.8GHz for memory. We already wrote that this SKU is meant only for Chinese and Russian market and should not appear in the rest of the world.

HIS has launched its own version of the HD 6930 that features its quite famous dual-slot IceQ X cooler and according to Expreview.com, this US $199 card holds its ground well against the HD 6950 and it is only about 6.2 percent slower on average than the HD 6950 2GB card.

While looking at current prices of AMD's HD 6900 series cards we noticed a nice price cut for both the HD 6950 and the HD 6970 XFX cards at Newegg.com.

Of course, since we are talking about Newegg.com, all of these price cuts are with a mail-in-rebate and include free shipping, as well as Dirt 3 download code in a limited time offer. The XFX HD 6970 was previously priced at US $349.99 and dropped to US $329.99, which translates to US $299.99 with a US $30 mail-in-rebate.

The XFX HD 6950 is currently priced at US $239.99 but with the same mail-in-rebate it translates to US $209.99. There are also some US $20 mail-in-rebates with Radeon HD 6800 series cards and we are pretty sure that all other AMD partners will pretty soon join in.

Of course, such price cut/deals were expected as Nvidia did put some pressure on Radeon HD 6950 cards with its limited edition GTX 560 Ti 448.

Sapphire added yet another card to its HD 6900 series lineup, the HD 6950 Toxic Edition. The card features AMD's well known Cayman GPU, comes with a decent factory overclock and custom vapor chamber based dual-slot cooler.

The Radeon HD 6950 Toxic Edition packs 1408 stream processors, has a GPU clock of 880MHz and packs 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 5200MHz on a 256-bit memory interface. The card also comes with dual BIOS, has an improved digital VRM and features single HDMI, two DVI and two mini-DiplayPort outputs. It, of course, needs 8 and 6-pin PCI-Express power connectors and supports AMD's CrossfireX.

The best part of the card is the custom dual-slot cooler based on the Vapor Chamber design. It has a single blower fan and a new perforated backplate which, combined with the cooler, should improve airflow of the case.

The Radeon HD 6950 Toxic Edition will be available with or without the Dirt 3 bundle and we expect it to show up in retail with a price tag of around €200.

As the name suggests, this is no ordinary graphics card. The PCS+ stands for factory overclocking where the GPU is overclocked from 800MHz to 850MHz and memory from 1250MHz to 1300MHz, but it’s the cooling system that truly separates this card from the rest of the HD 6950 pack. So far, we’ve had a chance to see a couple of nice HD 6950 custom cooling solutions, although the reference cooler is also efficient. Still, with Vortex II cooler, PCS + HD 6950 card definitely looks meaner than the reference HD 6950.

Below you see a GPUZ screenshot that confirms the clocks on our Radeon PSC+ HD 6950 Vortex II card.

The card comes in quite small but sturdy and attractive packaging. PowerColor PSC+ HD 6950 Vortex II looks pretty nice and the hood makes the card resemble the futuristic racing car pictured on the box.

PowerColor included all the necessary accessories, such as DVI-to-VGA converter and miniDisplayPort-to-DisplayPort converter. Standard sized HDMI is already on the card.

The cooler is dual slot and packs two fans. Although massive, it’s not too heavy since it’s mostly aluminum. The frame is made of plastic. It looks futuristic and it most certainly is. The fans, which normally lean on the heatsink, can be lifted off in order to get better airflow.

In the Vortex, mode the card extends into the third slot. You’ll need to adjust the fans separately and couple of handles and a light push will do the trick. The fans on PSC+ HD 6950 Vortex II can be moved even when the card is running, but make sure that it’s screwed tight to the back panel.

While the dual fans provide a lot of airflow, they also blow a lot of hot air inside your case. But by lifting the fan, it allows the fan to absorb the cooler air from bottom of the case, balancing ambient temperatures. You can event incline the fans slightly so the airflow is aimed at either end of the card, and as a consequence it will reduce turbulence and help heat spreading effectively from hot areas.

The fan is 92mm in diameter and is connected to the 3-pin connector. Fan speed regulation can be performed via the Catalyst Overdrive or any other tool you may prefer.

Power Color Radeon PSC+ HD 6950 Vortex II’s cooler has four 8mm thick heatpipes. The copper heatpipes differ in length, which also makes sure that heat is evenly distributed throughout the entire block.

HD 6950 Vortex II card is equipped with 2048MB GDDR5 memory. The GDDR5 memory chips are made by Hynix (model number H5GQ2H24MFR-T2C). They are specified to run at 1250MHz (effective 5000MHz), but on this card the memory runs overclocked at 1300MHz. The memory chips are exposed and do not have a passive cooling solution on top of them.

The video outputs reflect the standard Radeon HD6950 design. The I/O panel features two mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connectors, HDMI 1.4a and two DVI connectors (one of them is single-link with a maximum resolution of 1920x1200). By using DisplayPort outputs it’s possible to chain up to six monitors to a single card. You can run four monitors directly from this card by using two mini-DisplayPort connectors, the HDMI connector, and one of the DVI connectors. As far as sound goes, HDMI 1.4a provides Dolby True HD, DTS-HD, AC-3, DTS and up to 7.1 channel audio with 192KHz/24bit output.

Unlike the HD 6800, HD 6900 comes with two CrossFire connectors. This means that you can use four cards in a 4-way CrossFire.

The card also features a dual-bios toggle switch that makes bios updates a breeze. Setting 1 is unprotected for user updates, while setting 2 is the protected factory default mode.

Radeon PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II will require two 6-pin power connectors. Software GPU voltage control is possible due to use of CHiL's 8228G voltage regulator which supports voltage monitoring via the I2C communications protocol and comes with extensive monitoring and tweaking features. CHiL's 8228G voltage regulator provides the 8-phase power but only 7-phase power is used for this card.

The results we got after unlocking shaders are included in the tables below. Using Techpowerup’s how-to, Winflash and PowerColor HD 6970’s BIOS (clocked at 940MHz for the GPU and 1425MHz for the memory), we managed to turn our PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II into a PCS+ HD 6970 Vortex II (PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II unlocked). We also included HD 6970 results (overclocked to 940MHz) to see whether unlocking and overclocking of our PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II was successful. As you can see, it was. You can find more details on unlocking this card in the 'Overclocking' section.

3DMark 2011

Aliens vs Predator

Unigine Heaven

Overclocking

HD 6950’s reference clocks are 800MHz for the GPU and 11250MHz for the memory. Our today’s PowerColor card’s clocks are 850MHz for the GPU and 1300MHz for the memory.

AMD Overdrive wouldn’t allow clocks higher than 900MHz for the GPU or 1350MHz for the memory, but the same limitations apply in MSI Afterburner as well. In order to solve this, try some kind of driver uninstalling software like cleansweep, because you need to clear all driver settings before a fresh install.

You’re aware that HD 6950 cards can activate additional shader processors within the GPU. Using Techpowerup’s how-to, Winflash and PowerColor HD 6970’s BIOS (clocked at 940MHz for the GPU and 1425MHz for the memory), we managed to turn our PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II into a PCS+ HD 6970 Vortex II.

As soon as we restarted the computer, GPUZ confirmed we’re running 1536 shader processors and at overclocked HD 6970 clocks.

Bear in mind that not all HD 6950 will allow for unlocking. In fact, our readers have confirmed that only certain PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II cards will support this. It is possible that PowerColor handpicked most Cypress Pro cores that can do this and is selling them as AX6950 2GBD5-P22DH ++, which comes with 1536-shader enabled BIOS pre-installed on the card and accessible via the switch.

We fired up AMD Overdrive and saw that Catalyst Control Center recognizes the PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II as a new graphics card. As you can see, the earlier limitation is gone after strapping the card with new BIOS, which suggests that the problem was in PowerColor’s BIOS.

The results we got after unlocking shaders are included in the tables below. You can find Aliens vs. Predator testing results here whereas the rest is in the ‘Test Results’ section.

It’s important to note that HD 6970 cards require one 8-pin and one 6-pin connector, while the PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II comes with two 6-pin ones. In order for the new GPU (now with 1536 shader processors) to run at its max, you’ll have to do some PowerTune tuning. In the AMD Overdrive section of the Catalyst driver, you’ll have to set the Power Control settings slider all the way to the right (+20%). This will make sure that the overclocked GPU gets more power during gaming.

The next table shows results we got when Power Control slider was in default position, as well as after allowing the GPU to draw more power. We measured about 20W higher consumption in AvP after setting the slider all the way to the right.

Power Consumption

We measured almost 70W higher consumption after unlocking (with the GPU at 940MHZ) and additional 20W higher in AvP after setting the power slider inside Overdrive all the way to the right.

Thermals and Noise

PowerColor PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II’s cooling has proven it’s a quality solution that will keep the card well cooled, regardless of whether it’s in idle mode or under workload. GPU temperatures didn’t exceed 78°C during our gaming tests. The cooler was almost inaudible in idle operation (37°C). The cooler wasn’t loud, not even in intensive GPU operation.

After unlocking additional shaders, the Vortex II cooler was audible enough to be called loud, but bear in mind that we are talking about an overclocked card (940MHz for GPU and 1425MHz for memory). Still the PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II (unlocked) cooler is never as loud as the reference HD 6970's cooling.

The Vortex II cooler has two moveable fans which can be moved away from the fins, they’re quiet even during intensive gaming, and the card is factory overclocked from reference 800MHz to 850MHz which gives extra performance punch on the card.

The only downside to this dual slot cooler is that the card with two raised fans (Vortex position) will take up three slots. However, Vortex position results in only minimal cooling improvements over the default fans position (two slots) so the GPU will cooled just fine either way. The temperatures were around 78°C during gaming tasks, whereas idle mode resulted in temperatures around 37°C.

The results show about 6% performance increase compared to reference HD 6950, but you can always overclock it further because this PowerColor card has a Vortex II cooler that lets you do it.

The downside is that this card is priced at about €240, here, which is more than €40 higher than the reference version. Of course, that sort of cash can get you a reference HD 6970. On the other hand, this is an overclocked card with a specially designed silent cooler that will definitely be bragging material. Furthermore, we effectively managed to turn it into a HD 6970 with Vortex II cooling by unlocking all 1536 shaders.

As expected, Powercolor has today officially announced its latest addition to the HD 6900 series lineup, the PCS+ HD 6950 Vortex II card. Featuring a new Vortex II dual-fan cooler and factory overclocked HD 6950 GPU, the new PCS+ HD 6950 will come with 2GB of memory and will be bundled with Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2 game in some regions.

As far as the specs go, the new card feature 1408 Stream processors, GPU factory overclocked to 850MHz and 2GB of GDDR5 memory factory overclocked to 5200MHz and paired up with a 256-bit memory interface. The card features a new custom PCB that uses high-grade components and will have all the regular outputs including two DVI, HDMI and two mini Displayport outputs.

The new cooler features two 92mm Vortex fans and four heatpipes. The fans can be raised or lowered in order to optimize the airflow to the heatsink. The card hasn't been priced yet but we expect it retail at around €250.

Powercolor has released some pictures of its upcoming HD 6950 PCS++ card that will apparently be paired up with a new dual Vortex cooler. There is no info regarding the actual details of the card but considering the fact that it is a part of the PCS++ series, you can expect a hefty factory overclock.

The new HD 6950 PCS++ will feature a new dual Vortex fan cooler. We already had a chance to see the Vortex on some previous Powercolor cards and the story behind Vortex is quite simple as it allow the fans to be adjusted in order to achieve greater airflow. The cooler can be either pulled out or pushed down for additional airflow tweaking. In addition to Vortex fans, the cooler features a large heatsink paired up with four copper heatpipes and we are quite sure that this combination will have no trouble in keeping the HD 6950 GPU at low temperatures.

Of course, the card will feature 1408 Stream Processors, a 256-bit memory interface, either 1 or 2GB of GDDR5 memory and two DVI, HDMI and two mini DisplayPort outputs. As noted, you can expect a decent factory overclock with an additional overclocking potential.

There was some talk and rumors regarding HD 6790 unlockability in the weeks prior to the launch, but now, when the card is launched and reviews are out there is still no confirmation that the HD 6790 can be unlocked.

The story is quite simple as the HD 6790 is based on the same Barts GPU as its HD 6800 series brethren, it simply makes sense that these card could be unlocked. Some partners based their own design on the HD 6870 PCB, thus giving the HD 6790 two PCI-Express 6-pin power connectors and HD 6790 is also a decent overclocker as it can pretty easily reach the 1GHz clock for the GPU. Of course, we are talking about overclocking potential of the non-reference cards and not the AMD reference design.

The other side of the story is that AMD might have implemented more serious measures in order to keep the HD 6790 below the HD 6800 series, so it wouldn't interfere with the sales of the latter. AMD definitely learned a thing or two from the HD 6950 launch as during that time the unlockability of the HD 6950 to HD 6970 was almost 100 percent (and might still be) and it simply made no sense to go for the HD 6970, at least for those that were familiar with simple BIOS flashing.

We are still waiting for even some hint of HD 6790 unlockability as this would make this card really interesting and not just another US $150 mid-range card.

MSI has officially launched and showed its newest Radeon HD 6950 card, the R6950 Twin Frozr III Power Edition. The new cooler will bring a new fan design and will use the previously seen SuperPipe technology.

The card itself features 1408 stream processors, and clocks are set at 800MHz for the GPU and 5000MHz for memory. MSI will also roll out an OC version of the same card which should run at 850/5200MHz.

The PCB features a 6+2-phase desing and will feature Military Class II components as well as support for "Triple Overvoltage", which means that you will be able to set voltages for GPU, memory and VDDCI. It also comes with a hardware switch on the back of the card that regulates the fan speed for either maximum cooling or lowest possible noise.

As noted, the new cooler features a new "propeller blade" fan that should provide 20 percent more airflow while being 11 degrees cooler and 13.9dB quieter when compared to reference cooler. The fans are cooling a large heatsink that is connected to a copper base via five heatpipes (three 6mm and two SuperPipes 8mm).

The card should launch pretty soon and might reach some shops this month.

Our guest today is Gaiwnard GTX 560 Ti Phantom. The card is a part of Gainward’s Phantom line, aimed at those who like their cooling effective but silent. GTX 580 and GTX 570 already received Gainward’s Phantom treatment, so we guess it’s expected to see the GTX 560 Ti get the same remake.

Although our card comes with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, Gainward also offers a 2048MB version. We thought that testing the 1024MB versions will probably be wiser as 2GB cards tend to be pricier while not justifying the price difference on the gaming front.

Note that the 2GB version runs at reference clocks, whereas the 1GB version comes factory overclocked. However, the overclock is relatively small as you can see from the GPUZ shot below.

Nvidia set GTX 560 Ti reference clocks pretty high compared to the rest of Fermi cards. Namely, GPU runs at 822MHz, shaders at 1644MHz and the memory at 4008MHz. When the card is idle, the clocks go pretty low – 50.6MHz for the GPU, 101MHz for shaders and 67.5MHz for the memory.

The GTX 560 Ti’s ticker is the GF114 GPU, which received plenty of positive acclaim so far and we’ve seen that the card boasts nice performance-per-clock ratio as well.

Before we move on to the card, let us remind you that the GF114 is a derivation of GF104, as is evident from the number of transistors (1.95 billion). However, the GF114 packs a few improvements inherited from the GF110.

Phantom cooler comes with 4 heatpipes and two 80mm fans. The fans are placed inside the large heatsink so a glance at the card would suggest that the card is passively cooled. The fans are very quiet so we guess there would be no harm in assuming that.

As far as video outs go, we have here the classic Gainward’s Quattro-ports design, i.e. two dual link DVIs, HDMI and VGA out. Note that only two video outs can be used simultaneously. Nvidia included an HDMI sound device within the GPU, so there is no need for connecting the card to your motherboard’s/soundcard’s SPDIF out to get audio and video via HDMI.

GTX 560 TI comes with one SLI connector. This means you can combine up to two GTX 560 Ti cards in SLI mode for improved performance or image quality settings.

The Gainward Geforce GTX 560 Ti Phantom uses 1024 MB video memory. The chips used are K4G10325FE-HC04 parts from Samsung. They are specified to run at 1250 MHz (5000 MHz GDDR5 effective).

OnSemi's NCP5395T is a cost-effective voltage regulator. It does not offer I2C voltage control, but a VID based control is available through API in NVIDIA's driver.

The card has two 6-pin PCI-Express power connectors.

PackagingThe GTX 560 Ti Phantom’s packaging is similar to that of GTX 580 Phantom cards, only smaller. As you can see from the picture below, the larger box (GTX 580) says Phantom 3, meaning three fans. Our GTX 560 Ti Phantom comes with two fans.

Overclocking the GF114 should not be a problem, regardless of whether it’s reference or specially designed GTX 560 Ti. Most GTX 560 cards will run stable at 920+MHz. Gainward’s cooling provides a nice foundation for a healthy overclock and we got to following results. We managed to push the GPU from 835MHz to 930MHz, and the card remained quiet throughout.

Thermals and Noise

As far as noise levels go, the GTX 560 Phantom’s cooler is almost inaudible when idle, with GPU temperature around 33°C. The GTX 560 Phantom is almost inaudible during operation too. In our case, intensive 3D resulted in GPU temperature of about 73°C.

Consumption

Nvidia Geforce GTX 560 Ti provides nice performance, on many occasions comparable to those of the HD 6950 2GB. While AMD’s HD 6950 consumes about 20W less during gaming, the GTX 560 Ti consumes some 4W less when both cards are idle.

Nvidia added Advanced Power Management on all cards in the GTX 500 series, a feature which monitors consumption and performs power capping – all to protect the graphics cards from excessive power draw and potential damage. When the sensors detect higher than allowed consumption, the GTX 560 automatically downclocks and reverts to original clocks when the overcurrent is over.

GTX 560 Phantom 1GB’s GPU runs at 835MHz; the shaders are at 1670MHz whereas the memory runs at 4100MHz. When idle, the card downclocks to 50.6MHz for the GPU, 101MHz for shaders and 135MHz for the memory.

Conclusion

By launching the GTX 560 Ti, Nvidia finally sent the GTX 470 to its resting grounds. GTX 560 Ti is efficient, packs a mean punch and we believe it will do well, at least for one season.

Good thermals and overclocking potential caught an eye of many a partner and many of them have launched special versions of the card on day one. One model is definitely leading the pack for now – Gainward’s GTX 560 Ti Phantom. As the name suggests, it is a card from Gainward’s Phantom family, which as of now has three cards – GTX 580, GTX 570 and GTX 560 Ti. All three of these cards come with Phantom cooling, which is efficient and quiet.

GTX 560 Ti Phantom can beat the HD 6950 2GB in some games, provided you are gaming up to 1920x1600. As soon as you switch to 2560x1600, you’ll see the HD 6950 2GB reclaim the pole position. All in all, GTX 560 Ti’s price/performance ratio is pretty good and Gainward’s Phantom version is not much pricier than the reference card. Gainward’s virtually inaudible cooling would surely justify the higher price, and you can find the card here at €233, here. The card also comes with full size HDMI, which many will appreciate, and it is also 4cm shorter compared to the reference design.

In short - Gainward’s GTX 560 Ti Phantom offers gaming at all resolutions, it won’t cause power-bill headache and the card remains silent regardless of the workload.

AMD has rolled out the red carpet for Nvidia’s GTX 560 Ti in the form of a more affordable 1GB version of the HD 6950. Granted, the 1GB version is only about €20/$30 cheaper than the original 2GB version, but according to Hardwarecanucks it still packs quite a punch.

In a series of real life tests the 1GB version was just marginally slower than the 2GB model and in most 1080 tests the difference is negligible. In most tests card also managed to outperform Nvidia’s GTX 560 Ti, although Nvidia proved faster in some titles, such as DIRT 2 and Lost Planet 2. On average the 1GB card was 5 percent slower than the 2GB version, but it’s also 5 percent faster than the GTX 560 Ti.

All in all it appears that the reduction in memory size had very little effect on performance. So, it’s about 10 percent cheaper than the full blown 2GB version, yet just 5 percent slower, so it’s clearly very good value.